1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cassette auto-changer which selectively takes out a cassette from an accommodating portion accommodating a plurality of cassettes having tape recording mediums or disc recording mediums respectively, to load into a predetermined recording and/or reproducing means, and then records an information on the tape recording medium or the disc recording medium housed in the cassette, or reproduces an information from the tape recording medium or disc recording medium, in order to successively record and/or reproduce for a long time, and more particularly to an improvement of a cassette auto-changer loaded cassettes having various recording formats.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a cassette auto-changer of the foregoing type has been proposed by this applicant, for example, in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/971,070, in which a shelf device having a plurality of accommodating portions accommodating a plurality of cassettes housing magnetic tapes respectively as a recording medium (hereinafter called xe2x80x9cbinxe2x80x9d) is provided. The cassette accommodated into each bin is selectively taken out at need, to convey and load it into a predetermined video tape recorder (VTR) by a conveyance means (elevator), in order to record and/or reproduce a predetermined information (video signal etc.) from a magnetic tape housed in the cassette. The cassette auto-changer of the foregoing type can load plural kinds of cassettes having different recording formats or different sizes.
Additionally, the conventional cassette auto-changer has a switcher for switching the connections of a plurality of input lines and output lines. As a result, it is possible to output a plurality of output signals from a plurality of VTRs through corresponding output channels according to the connection condition of the switcher, as well as input video signal obtained from the outside video source into the corresponding VTRs through input channels allocated respectively.
In such a configuration of cassette auto-changer, a conveyance command of the cassette is input from a predetermined cassette conveyance control device, to send and receive thus selected cassette between a bin and a VTR. Further, when the user designates a predetermined command to a VTR control portion separated this, the VTR is controlled in recording state, reproducing state etc. Further, when controlling the switcher, it has been adapted to switch the connection of input and output channel of the switcher by a switcher control means.
In the cassette auto-changer having such structure, every unit containing plural bins accommodates cassettes having predetermined recording format. That is, each unit is adapted to accommodate the cassettes having different recording formats.
The cassettes having various recording formats have difference sizes and each unit accommodates cassettes having various sizes and the same format.
The cassette of the first recording format has three kinds of different lengths and widths (hereinafter, the largest cassette is called xe2x80x9cL cassettexe2x80x9d, the intermediate size cassette is called xe2x80x9cM cassettexe2x80x9d, and the smallest cassette is called xe2x80x9cS cassettexe2x80x9d). These cassettes have the same thickness (xc2xe inches).
Other cassette of the second recording format has two kinds of different lengths and widths (hereinafter, large cassette is called xe2x80x9cL cassettexe2x80x9d and small cassette is called xe2x80x9cS cassettexe2x80x9d) and of the same thickness (xc2xd inches).
Still other cassette of the third recording format has one kind of a thickness xc2xd inches (hereinafter, it is called xe2x80x9cS cassettexe2x80x9d).
In the cassettes of the first, the second, and the third recording formats, if they are the same in type, i.e. L cassettes or S cassettes, but they are different in size.
On the contrary, in a cassette auto-changer loaded together with plural kinds of cassettes having different recording formats, there are plural kinds of cassettes, bins, and VTRs without exchangeability each other. In such a case, if the control portion for controlling the cassette auto-changer is not recognized that each cassette, bin, and VTR are corresponding in recording format, there is able to arise a trouble that a cassette of one recording format is inserted into a bin of different recording format.
Accordingly, when cassettes having different recording formats are accommodated separatively every unit, it is necessary that the control portion of the cassette auto-changer previously recognizes units allocated by types of the cassettes. By recognizing the recording format of the cassette in the control portion, it is considered that the cassettes of respective recording formats are certainly accommodated into corresponding cassette accommodating portions.
Here, a recognizing method of different recording format has been proposed by this applicant, in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/971,070. A type detecting board showing a recording format is provided every accommodating portion accommodating cassettes of respective recording formats. According to the detected result whereby a type detecting sensor composed of a photo-coupler provided to a conveyance device detects the type detecting board, the conveyance device moves to detect the recording format of the cassette accommodated into respective accommodating units. However, in such a method, there has been problems that it has been needed parts for identifying kinds of cassettes, such as type detecting boards, type detecting sensors or the like, which must be provided every unit, and it has been needed troublesome works that the conveyance device has to be previously moved to detect the recording formats every accommodating unit.
In view of the foregoing, an object of this invention is to provide a cassette auto-changer in which cassette accommodating portions (bins and accommodating units) allocated every different recording format can be discriminated certainly and easily.
The foregoing object and other objects of this invention have been achieved by the provision of a cassette auto-changer, comprising: cassette accommodating shelves having a plurality of cassette bins accommodating plural kinds of cassettes with different types of recording media recording formats of which are different each other; a plurality of recording and/or reproducing portions for selectively recording and/or reproducing a format signal in accordance with the recording formats of the recording media on/from the recording media accommodated in one of said plurality of types of cassettes loaded therein; a cassette conveyance portion for selectively conveying the plural kinds of cassettes between the plurality of cassette bins and the plurality of recording and/or reproducing portions, and loading the plurality of cassettes into the plurality of cassette bins and the plurality of recording and/or reproducing portions; means for storing information indicative of type of recording format of recording media housed in the plural kinds of cassettes accommodated within the plurality of cassette bins; information storing means connected to the storing means to read said information indicative of type of recording formats from the storing means; information reading means connected to the reading means to discriminate said recording formats of recording media housed in the plurality kinds of cassettes accommodated in the plurality of cassette bins in response to the information indicative of type of recording formats read by the reading means, wherein: the plural kinds of cassettes. with different recording formats are accommodated in an accommodating unit consisting of a plurality of cassette bins every type of recording formats; the storing means are provided to each accommodating unit.
The nature, principle and utility of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals or characters.